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Review: Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

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A while back I posted a small Sephora haul and promised some reviews on those products. I’m here to make good on that promise with some thoughts on the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask.

I picked this up in the deluxe sample size by redeeming a few of my Beauty Insider points, and I’m very glad that I didn’t spend any actual money on this. Although this product is kind of fun to use, it doesn’t actually do a whole lot. It’s all spectacle and no real substance.

This is a peel-off mask. True to its name, this stuff is black. It goes on shiny and kind of sticky and then dries into a solid film that you can peel off in one piece. The texture is like melted plastic when you first apply it.

Lucky for you, dear readers, my significant other thought I looked so hilarious with this mask on that he felt compelled to snap a pic…much to my chagrin.

If you’re going to try this mask, be prepared to fire up the old Netflix account because this one requires some serious drying time. I waited about 30 minutes and found there were still a few wet patches when I went to peel it off. (I’m watching Netflix on my tablet in the picture.)

You’ll notice in the picture that I didn’t cover my whole face with the product. Anytime I use peel-off masks, I avoid the perimeter of my face where the peach fuzz is thickest. Experience has taught me that pulling a mask off of peach fuzz hurts like a !@##%

Something I really didn’t like about this product is that it caused my eyes to water as it was drying. A quick scan of the ingredients revealed that it contains a lot of witch hazel and other potent irritants. Boo!

When it came time to peel the mask off, I found that it worked much like a pore strip. It did remove small amounts of gunk from my pores (just the surface stuff), but the results were far from stellar. (Any bits of the mask that didn’t peel off were easily removed with a warm wash cloth.)

Overall I’d say that the negative effects of the potentially irritating ingredients in this mask far outweigh the benefits. There is something oddly satisfying about peel-off masks (kind of like popping bubble wrap), but that’s hardly enough to justify the price on this one.